North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Bill Russell" <shaman@pennswoods.net>]

Speaking of non-chemical ways to get rid of problem insects -when it's
really necessary:

To get rid of ants in a inappropriately placed anthill, simply sprinkle
bleached, degerminated white wheat flour over the hill. I don't know if the
ants go elsewhere or if they die, but the hill will be ant-free within a few
days.

Bill Z5

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gene Spears" <Spears@LMC.edu>
To: "'North American Fruit Explorers'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 9:47 AM
Subject: RE: [NAFEX] bumble aggression


> Lucky's post about using gasoline to get rid of a problem bee nest
> has inspired me to share a non-chemical (organic?) technique to get rid of
> problem ground nests like those of yellowjackets.  Take a large, clear
glass
> container (gallon jar or 10 gallon aquarium) and cover the nest entrance,
> making sure to shove it firmly into the surrounding ground so that there
are
> no large gaps between the bottom of the container and the ground.  Because
> there's nothing blocking up their nest entrance, the bees can't figure out
> that they need to build a new opening.  They'll keep using the old
entrance,
> but not getting anywhere.  Eventually, you have a pile of dead bees around
> the entrance and a dead nest (may take up to a week on a big nest).
Biggest
> problem is making sure your container doesn't tip over in the meantime -
an
> aquarium is far more stable than a glass jar.
> I like bumblebees - about the only thing around here that you can
> depend on to visit the apple blossoms - and am perfectly happy to co-exist
> with yellowjackets (even though they're a bit of a pest when it's time to
> squeeze the cider), but sometimes you just have to get rid of a specific
> nest.....
>
> gene
> spears@lmc.edu
> zone 6 - WNC
>
>
> I've only had a single encounter with a bumblebee nest, but it wasn't very
> much fun.  In my limited experience, they're every bit as aggressive as
> yellowjackets if you disturb their nest.
> I was mowing some fairly rank, overmature grass alongside the driveway a
> number of years ago, when WHAM! out of nowhere, those rascals started
> nailing me.  Of course, I took off on a sprint - ran at least 50 yards to
> escape them.  Left the lawnmower running - I believe it as positioned
> almost directly over the entrance to the nest at the point in time when I
> departed.  A significant number of bees committed suicide on the mower
> blades as they exited the nest, but it still took a good 30 minutes before
> I was able to sneak back up to the mower and shut it off.  Left it there
> until nightfall, when I was able to remove it safely.  Hated to do it, but
> since I had a 1 & 3 -yr old toddling around at the time, I poured a cup of
> gasoline down the hole to finish off any survivors.
>
> Lucky
>
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